Critical Role Is Critical Role Scripted

[g00se99994]

But it's not.

It most certainly is. Fresh cut grass death was planned for obvious reasons. Same with Molly. It was extremely obvious to me that Taliesin was not feeling that character and wanted to play something else. He was much more comfortable playing Caduceus. I repeat, I don't care either. I think they do a great job putting on a show. Heck at my own table I've had players tell me they want to swap to something else and we fabricate a death for them. It's fine.

 

[Oofta]

I apologize for not being clear. I think they have meetings discussing certain plot points and character ideas. I don't think they pre plan all their dialog. I also don't care if they do. It's just entertainment. Critical Role is not a demonstration of what a typical D&D session is like. I see it more as entertainment. Like wrestling.

They've stated many times that they don't discuss plot points or what will happen in a session. Matt has ideas on direction of course, but the players have no clue about what is coming. As far as discussing character ideas offline, I think that's pretty common. Not only intra-party (e.g. "Would it be okay if my PC pursued a romantic relationship with your PC"), but also the occasional discussion with the DM about goals or even potential changes for a PC. I know I've had many such conversations offline with various groups.

While they are far more focused on the game and less likely to discuss real world things during the session, I find their game content similar to what I've seen time and time again. Including boring shopping sessions because I came up with a fun shopkeeper. Style wise, I don't play with voice actors and some people are not into improv or staying in character as much as they do. But they're still playing D&D the way we do, even if it's not how you play it.

 

[Clint_L]

It most certainly is. Fresh cut grass death was planned for obvious reasons. Same with Molly. It was extremely obvious to me that Taliesin was not feeling that character and wanted to play something else. He was much more comfortable playing Caduceus. I repeat, I don't care either. I think they do a great job putting on a show. Heck at my own table I've had players tell me they want to swap to something else and we fabricate a death for them. It's fine.

So, you are calling them liars based on your own interpretation of events. Interesting.

 

[Oofta]

It most certainly is. Fresh cut grass death was planned for obvious reasons. Same with Molly. It was extremely obvious to me that Taliesin was not feeling that character and wanted to play something else. He was much more comfortable playing Caduceus. I repeat, I don't care either. I think they do a great job putting on a show. Heck at my own table I've had players tell me they want to swap to something else and we fabricate a death for them. It's fine.

So they're lying?

For what it's worth, I have had people tell me they're tired of playing a PC and want to kill off their PC heroically or give them an excuse to leave the team. Even if Taliesin did discuss Molly's death, which is not a given, it's something I've done in my home game. I'm sure Sam discussed taking a break from Scanlon, I've had the same conversation.

I watched the after-show they used to do when Travis decided to abandon his warlock patron to become a paladin. He said the scene where he threw his sword into the lava was completely improvised. Did he discuss disliking the warlock aspects of his character with Matt ahead of time? Maybe? Probably? It was still an on-the-spot decision about how to do it.

None of that makes the show scripted. It may make it a style of play you've never personally experienced, but it's just par for the course for me.

 

[billd91]

It most certainly is. Fresh cut grass death was planned for obvious reasons. Same with Molly. It was extremely obvious to me that Taliesin was not feeling that character and wanted to play something else. He was much more comfortable playing Caduceus. I repeat, I don't care either. I think they do a great job putting on a show. Heck at my own table I've had players tell me they want to swap to something else and we fabricate a death for them. It's fine.

Based on contemporary accounts by the people involved, you're wrong on both counts.

Matt was planning ideas for temporarily sidelining FCG because of Sam's illness, not killing him, as discussed on 4-Sided Dive. And the potential for blowing up has been out there for a long time. Sam just invoked it because of the situation they ended up in.

And there's a D&D Beyond produced video of Taliesin talking about Mollymauk recorded before Molly's death (and posted just after his death) that doesn't indicate at all that he wasn't feeling the character. I believe that interpretation is all you.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Here's another dirty little secret for all the people who think the CR players are aware of the plots beforehand...

...really good drama makes sense. And when a story makes sense... you can understand and guess where the story is going more often than not. And thus it doesn't take a genius or someone with everything written down for them beforehand to predict and figure that out... because cause and effect is a thing.

But I suspect that because a lot of D&D players don't actually treat their games like dramatic works and instead just play the game as a game... more often than not they just experience lots of random encounters that get placed in front of them. Either because the DM rolled on some table, or because they have some dungeoncrawl with a whole bunch of creatures and traps showing up in it for no real rhyme or reason other than the dungeon just had to be filled up with interesting stuff to interact with. So of course those players can't predict or plan for anything to happen because there's no narrative cause and effect. Stuff just happens.

It's the whole thing about "railroads" all over again. People wonder why is it that a lot of players don't actually have a problem with "railroads"? It's because a lot of the time... the players aren't in fact being "railroaded". Rather... each part of the story the DM is presenting for the players to interact with has an easily understandable, recognizable and logical next step. And thus the players just play intelligently and they start heading in the direction the story seems to be going even without being told. Because they understand how drama and narrative cause and effect works.

 

[Clint_L]

So they're lying?

For what it's worth, I have had people tell me they're tired of playing a PC and want to kill off their PC heroically or give them an excuse to leave the team. Even if Taliesin did discuss Molly's death, which is not a given, it's something I've done in my home game.

They have talked about that event many times. It was not planned. In the moment, Mercer felt like it was the only sensible action for the BBEG to take.

It is true that Jaffe had a back-up character more or less ready. Apparently all of the cast have back-up characters in case something goes wrong. Mollymauk themself was originally conceptualized in Campaign 1 as a back-up character for Percy.

 

[Oofta]

They have talked about that event many times. It was not planned. In the moment, Mercer felt like it was the only sensible action for the BBEG to take.

It is true that Jaffe had a back-up character more or less ready. Apparently all of the cast have back-up characters in case something goes wrong. Mollymauk themself was originally conceptualized in Capaign 1 as a back-up character for Percy.

That's what I always assumed. It looked like everyone was shocked and even Matt felt a little bad about it. But he plays the NPCs the best way he sees logical.

I was just noting that I've had players sometimes discuss PC direction and options with me in my games. So even if it had been discussed ahead of time, it would still be something I've seen before.

 

[DEFCON 1]

They have talked about that event many times. It was not planned. In the moment, Mercer felt like it was the only sensible action for the BBEG to take.

I also want to say that if I'm remembering correctly... the BBEG had Multiattack and Matt had either decided at the top of the turn they were taking both their attacks on Molly, or that he might have even rolled both attacks at the same time. And when the first hit dropped Molly to 0 HP, I want to say the second hit was rolled a crit and thus did 2 failed death saves? Something like that? And that either Molly had already had a failed death save and thus now had 3 and died... or on Molly's turn he rolled a death save and failed it, thus passing away. And because the party were all lower than 5th level, no one had Revivify yet to bring him back.

I'm probably missing or misremembering some details, but in either case I want to say Matt didn't intentionally decide to take a second swing on Molly after he was told he fell to 0 HP. It was already prepped to be made even before Talisien told him the result of the first hit.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They have talked about that event many times. It was not planned. In the moment, Mercer felt like it was the only sensible action for the BBEG to take.

It is true that Jaffe had a back-up character more or less ready. Apparently all of the cast have back-up characters in case something goes wrong. Mollymauk themself was originally conceptualized in Campaign 1 as a back-up character for Percy.

It would be hard to imagine a group of heavy duty roleplayers not making up extra characters for fun, even if the prospect of character death wasn't on the table.